


Next In Line To Be Alpha

by A_Flaming_Idiot



Category: BNA: Brand New Animal (Anime)
Genre: Author Is Sleep Deprived, BNA AU, Flashbacks, Found Family, Gen, Healthy Bit Of Angst, I Accidentally Made An AU, Michiru Is Trying Her Best, Shirou Is A Mess, Silver Wolf AU, Silver Wolf Works Like OFA, Six months later, Wolf Dad To The Max, this is what i crave
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-26
Updated: 2020-08-01
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:54:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,900
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25485799
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/A_Flaming_Idiot/pseuds/A_Flaming_Idiot
Summary: Since fighting a Nirvasyle Syndrome plagued Yaba, Michiru had known about Shirou's secret. That included the fact that Shirou hadn't always been the Silver Wolf.During the battle with Alan, Michiru learned a whole lot more. Because she became a whole lot more.Now it has been half a year since then, and Shirou wants to teach her a little bit more of what it means to be the Silver Wolf.Michiru is just excited to learn more about this new power she has been given.A.K.A. I accidently created an AU and now I wrote a oneshot for it. I also am kinda panicking cause I've never made an AU before and I'm terrified!!
Relationships: Hiwatashi Nazuna & Kagemori Michiru, Itami Marie & Kagemori Michiru, Itami Marie & Ogami Shirou, Kagemori Michiru & Ogami Shirou
Comments: 11
Kudos: 34





	1. Training Session

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey so this is gonna be my first BNA fic. So go easy on me here.  
> But pretty much I accidently created an AU by posting some art on Amino. Now I got inspired to turn that AU into a oneshot, maybe multishot fic.  
> So enjoy as I try my best to write characters I've never written for before.

Michiru could feel the soft grass under her paw pads, having abandon her shoes long ago. She crested over the green hill to behold the verdant field before her.

Her sensitive nose was filled with the smells of the sandy earth that made up this grassy, bowl shaped island Michiru had found herself on. The sound of the motor of Marie's boat faded into the distance. Michiru just let her legs give out to fall and go rolling down the hill in a giggling ball. Hitting the base of the hill, she fell into a cackling pile.

It had just been so long since she felt or smelled true grass. She had gotten too use to the feel of the inorganic city. So to feel something organic was exactly what she needed. 

The tanuki girl could practically feel all the tension and stress that had built up in her body release into the nothing. Over the last six months since Alan had tried to destroy the beastmen as a species, a lot had changed for Michiru. Alan had disappeared into nothing, though Michiru and Shirou hadn't made much of an attempt to search for him. The serum had been distributed to beastmen, now both curing and giving them an immunity to Nervasyl syndrome. 

Mayor Rose had also started programs to try and integrate humans into the lives of beastmen in a new and better way. Though that had mostly come in the form of education on both sides and no full humans had entered Anima-city yet for any extended period of time. So they still had a long way to go. But it was more than Michiru or anyone else had seen in their lifetimes, even Shirou. Though he did complain and whine about it cause he's a stubborn old wolf.

Michiru had watched her best friend Nazuna leave behind her false identity as the Silver Wolf and replaced it with becoming a new pop idol. She had also made strides to maybe be a bit of a better person after having admitted she wasn't being the best friend to Michiru. Which Michiru couldn't disagree with but it was odd to hear coming from her friend's mouth. Though she still had a long ways to go before they could go back to how they were before all this. Nazuna and Michiru had just gone through too much for it all to be fix with the flip of a switch.

Michiru had also got the chance to start a small basketball league in Anima City. She had encountered a small bunch of other beastmen with a passion for the sport. That had lead to the occasional pickup game, then those turned to regular ones. That then turned to playing enough that they started attracting attention while playing, people coming to spectate them. Which had people then wanting to learn the game to join in. That left them with more people than could really be the two teams, even if they pushed it in team size. That was enough evidence for Mayor Rose to give Michiru the go ahead to create the Anima City Basketball League. It was an uncreative name but it worked.

It also lead to Michiru getting to watch Shirou try and use a basketball. He could shoot fine, if only a little above average. But watching him try and dribble was gold. He hit his foot then panicked and hit the ball to hard and it hit himself in the face. That was when Shirou swore off ever touching a basketball again.

On a personal level, Michiru had now moved in with Shirou. Sure they were already in the same building but this was on a more personal level. Shirou had insisted on it since he believed with the most recent events, he should be able to keep her close. 

The Horners had also thought it was a good idea since after everything that had happened, Michiru wasn't always feeling the best. And there are the occasional nights where she might need a person like Shirou close by. 

Michiru thought that Shirou also wanted her around so she could help him with doing random things around the house. Even if he'd pretend like it was the exact opposite.

"Hey! Get up! We didn't come here to roll around in the grass!" A tired voice commanded from atop the hill. Michiru broke from her gazing upwards to look to the voice. Atop the hill stood the beastman of the hour, the wolf Shirou Ogami, now in his human form. In one of his hands he held a cane. It was less of being used to support his weight, and more as a just in case. His stability had unfortunately began to falter after his injuries from his battle with Alan. It didn't help that he could heal as fast anymore.

He looked like the world's angriest senior citizen. Which yeah, he already was, but the cane just made it look official.

Ogami slowly started making his way down the hill, having a little trouble keep his balance with how steep it was, but he managed, just looking a bit clumsy and not hurting himself.

If it had been any other cane wielding old man, Michiru would have tried to help. But she had long since learned the rage that burned in Shirou for his new use of a support. And he didn't want anyone trying to help him, feeling it as just degrading. Cause apparently his own pride came before being able to get cans off the highest shelf without hurting himself. So Michiru just left him to grumble as he struggled down the decline, and let herself go back to just laying in the grass.

She closed her eyes to enjoy the moment once again. Her nose filled with the natural, earthy smells as he furry skin was warmed by the sun. At least that was till a cane hit her in the ribs. Michiru jumped to a sitting position, cupping her side where the cane it, to see Shirou standing over her like an angry mob boss.

"I said get up." He growled.

"Ok ok I'm up!" Michiru assured, quickly rising to her feet. She stretched out her body, feeling the blood start flowing again, even with her near still heart. "Ok so if you didn't bring me here to enjoy nature, why are we here?" Michiru snarked.

"Sparring." Shirou stated so cold and straight it could turn a hot gay man into a heterosexual Popsicle. 

"What?!" Michiru yelped. She'd trained with him in the past, but having Marie bring them to a empty island off of Animacity could only mean one kind of sparring. The kind of sparring that Michiru knew would come along one day, but never thought that day would be today.

"You heard what said." Shirou commanded. Michiru groaned, slumping excessively to communicate her frustrations. She had been dreading this day or any like it for the past six months. 

Shirou gently grabbed her head and guided her to look at him.

"Don't act like a child. If you want to be able to use this power to any point beyond it just not killing you, you're gonna need to train it." He explained softly, his eyes carried a comforting coldness to them. Like a teacher who had the full intention of putting a mortal through hell, only to watch them come out the other end as a god. "Now you know what's gonna happen next, so get in your place."

Michiru sighed softly as she pulled herself away from Shirou's grip. She couldn't argue with him, or at least not win that argument, so all she could do was go along with it. 

The tanuki carefully removed her signature red jacket and tossed it on to the hill side; she wouldn't want it to get ruined. She started making her way across the field. Leaving her in just her tank top and sweatpants. 

"Ok dad." Michiru chuckled over her shoulder. She wasn't able to see him, but she knew Shirou's cheeks went flush from him roaring " **Michiru**!" In frustration.

She walked with a chuckle escaped her mouth, putting a distance of about forty feet between her and Shirou.

Michiru spun around to face Shirou. She watched as he dropped his cane and found his footing. His trench coat already at his feet.

"Are you ready?" Shirou yelled across the field to Michiru.

"Well I was hoping we could maybe do some stretching first." Michiru suggested, started stretching from side to side and trying to touch her feet.

"Yes sure we can totally- readysetgo!" Shirou sarcastically replied before cutting himself off with a rapid warning before he lunged forwards. His body tore itself apart as he morphed into his huge glowing white and blue Silver Wolf form. Two huge triangular spikes protruded from his shoulders. His teeth were beared for all to see, since he lacked lips.

Michiru yelped in panicked shock at the sight of a functional monster flying to her. In a split second she grabbed onto the bracelet on her wrist and tore it away with a snap. She had decided to succeed where Shirou failed, using the idea of having a snap button on the back for easy quick removal.

A purple light exploded out of a circular, veined scar on the top of her wrist. Her own body exploded into muscular, quadrupedal wolf like form. 

A black mask wrapped around her eyes, a pair of hair puffs hung from the side of her head. Wing like red fur tuff's stood in the place of Shirou's shoulder spikes on her white and dark blue body. Her furry tail swished and spiraled like it was made of smoke.

[What She Looks Like](http://aminoapps.com/p/gn5z1w)

Michiru exhaled in her Silver Wolf form for the first time in weeks.

Shirou tackled her to the ground, his paws pressing down on her chest to hold her down form.

"You're too slow. If this was a real fight you'd be dead." Shirou, also known as Ginrou in this form, growled in a voice so raspy that it sounded like he beat up every other grumpy dad and mugged them for their raspy-ness.

"You always say that!" Michiru growled. Her own voice having gained an odd ethereal level to it. Sounding like there was an echo, or like there were three or four of her voices with a lag between each.

Michiru swung her legs into Shirou's gut, launching him off her. He flipped through the air before sticking the landing to glare at Michiru.

"Because it's always true." He replied, begining to prowl in circles around Michiru as she jumped to her feet.

Michiru came to a battle stance. Her eyes bounced around unable to stay on Shirou in particular, instead floating around the area near him. She had forgotten what it felt like, and all the overflowing energy that came with being the Silver Wolf. It was exhilarating.

She launched herself at him, maw agape to bare her fangs.

Shirou leapt out of the way of her main attack, though he felt her canines knick his hind leg as she overshot past him.

He spun back around to face her, having placed about fifteen feet between them. He watched as the fur on Michiru's shoulder divided itself into for chunks that hardened into blades. His own spikes hardened and glowed his matching blue.

"Sword storm!" Michiru exclaimed as she launched herself at Shirou, who replied by launching himself back. 

They clashed, their blades grinding against each other with a ching sound. They flew past each other to land in the opposite place where they started, to only do it again several more times. Each hit ringing out with metal clashing. Any injury one would sustain from the other, would heal over before the next collision.

After what amounted to be only about a minut but had shattered triple digits of clashes. The two stopped to begin circling again, Michiru panting heavily. Shirou stared at her confused.

"Did you just name your attack?" He asked, mildly annoyed.

"Was I not supposed to?" She wondered, tilting her head to the side, it bobbing from her aggressive panting.

"Yes. You were not supposed to name your attacks. That's ridiculous." He groaned, somehow looking exhausted in Silver Wolf form. "I think you watch too much anime."

"Well sorry. I used to have a lot more time on my hands before I became THIS." The wolf tanuki barked, gesturing with one paw to her whole body. She made another lounge forwards at Shirou again.

Shirou did his best to smirk in his Silver Wolf form as he waited for her before he jumped out of the way of her assault. Using the opening, he spun around and struck Michiru's body with his own.

The she wolf was sent flying across the field where she rolled over herself several times. She remained on her side for a moment before trying to pull herself up only to fall back down. 

Shirou placed his huge paw down on her shoulder. Michiru struggled, trying to break free from a surprisingly weak hold. She soon fell still, letting out a soft whine as she looked up to the snarling face of Shirou. She admitted defeat to her superior Silver Wolf. Shirou removed his paw and placed it back down in front of her face. He looked on as Michiru's Silver Wolf body faded and flowed back to her wrist scar and leave her in as a tanuki beastman.

Shirou too let his form disapear into his wolf beatsman form. He left her to recover as he reaproached the hill they had started on. 

He grabbed the wicker picnic basket he had brought with them. It helped the illusion that the two of them were going to the island for a little time outside after Michiru complained about being stuck inside. Of course Michiru didn't know about that last part. And that was why it was a good illusion.

He leaned over to grab his cane, trench coat, and Michiru's jacket. Throwing the jackets over his shoulder and started using his cane to assist his walking again.

It was very true that he hated having to use this dumb cane. But ever since the battle with Alan, he'd been stuck with it. 

He scratched the circular scar on his stomach. He remembered the feeling of the blood being forced out of his mouth violently by the force of Alan's attack.

 _"It's smaller, it's been getting smaller everyday_." He hummed to himself.

After giving Michiru his power, his own healing powers had become stunted. Leaving what would have taken a few hours to heal, to take estimated to be a year.

Many would say that they would regret giving up their power of healing after being forced to use a cane and suffer from back pain for the first time in their life. But Shirou couldn't say that. He could never say he regretted doing what he did. Not after what happened on that roof.

" _I'm sorry Shirou! I failed you...I failed everyone...._ " The quaking voice of Michiru rung in his head. _"I can't do anything. I can't save anyone...I'm useless..._ "

No, he was never gonna regret his choice to give her his power. Even though he had maybe a few years left before the power would completely fade and he would be left as just a normal beastman. Someone to fade into a crowd and one day only become dust and memories; he wouldn't regret giving up his power to someone like Michiru. Not when he knew what it was to not be able to save your people.

Shirou dropped the basket near Michiru, shocking her into a upright sitting position. Shirou opened up the basket and pulled out a neat stack of Michiru's clothes, placing her jacket on top.

"You did good for you first time fighting as the Silver Wolf since Alan." He congratulated handing the clothes to Michiru, which she quickly excepted.

Michiru threw her clothes on to replace the ones destroyed in the shifting, Shirou doing the same with his own. They were more than glad for their fur coats. And that shifting from Silver Wolf form left them in their beastman forms afterwards. If not it would look pretty far more indecent, and probably suspicious for on Shirou's part.

\----------------

Michiru greedily chugged a bottle of neon yellowish green sports drink. The cool liquid drenching her dry mouth and throat. A little bit of it poured out around her lips to drip down her chin and soak her shirt. After emptying it, she took a moment to look at the label, which in the place of Gatorade, it was Crocoade. Cause apparently even though it was an animal themed brand, Gatorade was too human for the beast-men. It just convinced her if how weird beast-men are.

She started greedily tearing at a granola bar offered by Shirou. He just looked at her with an odd look of understanding in his eyes. He just worked on a piece beef jerky himself as he sat back on the blanket he'd laid out for them.

"Aaahhhhgg! I'm so hungry!" Michiru groaned angrily, having emptied the foil wrapper. She discarded it into her pocket, to probably forget it and only realize it's there after washing it and putting it on again to feel a bulge in her pocket. She would then face palm to realize it was the wrapper that she swore she would throw out.

"Oh course you are. You just don't yet have enough stamina to handle being the Silver Wolf for long periods of time." Shirou explained, tearing through his dried meat as they laid on a spreaded blanket. "So your body is trying to refuel itself."

"But what about last time I fought as the Silver Wolf? I fought for longer and didn't feel this hungry." Michiru thought aloud. It was true, last time she hadn't felt this hangry after her fight.

"Last time you were fuel by your anger and emotions. You didn't notice your own exhaustion." Shirou elaborated. He hummed softly in thought as he envisioned what he had seen that night.

 _"I may not have the howl of the gods, I may not even have been born a beastman. But I still do have a howl. And I call it the howl of the **PEOPLE!**_ **"** The wolf Michiru had yelled before she fired out a beam of intertwined blue and red energy from her mouth. Shirou had stood in absolute awe from atop the ruined remains of the bleachers. He had never seen such rage in her since then. That included not seeing her beam, even though he'd seen her try and fail when she though he wasn't looking.

"It does mean we'll have to increase your stamina if we want you to be able to last any reasonably amount of time as the Silver Wolf." Shirou thought aloud, already planning everything ahead of time. He brushed the fur on his face with his claws in thought.

"Aaaahhhg! I hate stamina exercises." Michiru whined, slumping over herself and falling to the ground into a intentionally pathetically looking pile. 

"Did you think would happen?!" Shirou roared, actually sincerely mad. Her words felt like she was insulting the state of being the Silver Wolf. "Did you think being the Silver Wolf would just be all parties and super powers?!?"

Michiru slowly and methodically drew herself up, pausing Shirou's outrage.

"No I didn't. I knew what I was agreeing to when I accepted this." Michiru hummed, a small smile creeping into her face as she stared off. A fire burned in her eyes as if she had harnessed the powers of hell to do her biding. "I know that one day I will lose everything I have right now. I'm immortal now, I understood that then and I understand that now." She gently shook her head as if she was warding off a thought. "I just didn't care. I want to become a Silver Wolf that doesn't need to protect beastmen from humans. I'll only ever need to save beastmen from uncontrollable misfortune, not directed malice." 

Shirou was almost knocked over by his shock. Had his little gremlin trash daughter who he found in a back alley really just say all that? He'd never taught her all that. He never had even heard her talk about something like her aspirations for being the next Silver Wolf.

" _I probably should have expected this_." He thought as he reminisced back to the night he laid bleeding out with a hole in his chest.

" _If someone offered you the power to save them, would you accept it? Even at the cost of knowing you're doomed to one day lose everything, would you take the power to save everyone_?" He had spluttered his question out through the blood pouring from his throat. 

He never had expected her to say yes so quickly. All he could do was plunge his hand through her arm and let his blood flow into her own blood stream. Those few moments after her heart stopped and she fell limp, were some of the most horrifying moments. He had already killed her once, now he needed to do it again.

He placed one hand on her head, ruffling her hair as he felt a little flame of pride burn inside his chest. A smile grew from his lips.

"I hope my natural life span is long enough to see that day." He hummed sweetly.

She really had grown from that little stubborn pup who refused to budge on any idea she ever got in her little head. Had she really become a mature young woman this quickly? 

"Aaahhhgg! But that doesn't make it any easier though!" Michiru groaned as she fell back and sprawled out on her back, leaving Shirou's hand just hovering before he retracted it.

No she hasn't, at least not yet. She's still his whiny goblin pup; and he doesn't have many problem with that. But Michiru didn't need to know that.

Michiru then jumped straight to her feet, stretching out. Shirou flinched from her sudden recovery.

"But I do need to get it done. So what do I have to do? Please don't say planks." Michiru interrogated Shirou, looking ready for anything he was gonna throw at her.

"I'm not gonna make you do planks." Shirou groaned. He sometimes forgets he has jock lesbian for a daughter. "Plus we're done for today."

"What!? We can't be done! We fought for like five minutes then I collapsed!" She exclaimed, outraged and moving her arms for affect.

"I rest my case." Shirou sarcastically shrugged, to Michiru's annoyance. "Today was meant to be seeing your limits and what I can expect from you in your current state. Which apparently isn't much"

"We'll give me something to do then! I can't just sit here waiting for Marie to get back!" Michiru exclaimed, her stubborn jock really coming out by this point. An evil smirk crossed Shirou's as he stared up at her. 

"Alright. Go do a few laps of the whole island as fast as you can till you collapse again. Either form is fine but I expect at least five." Shirou explained, making a looping motion with his claws finger.

Michiru looked at him with a mild look of horror. She then turned her head to the rest of the island. Her eyes scanned the circumference of the island. It had to be at least a mile and a half, if not much more. Michiru slumped her head in defeat and fell back to the blanket they were sitting on.

"Guess I'll sit here and wait for Marie to get back." She muttered defeated, slumping over herself and resting her elbows on her thighs. Shirou had to hold back a chuckle if he wanted to keep up the whole stoic thing he had going on.

Shirou returned his hand to her head again. He really didn't know why he defaulted to head pats and hair ruffling for physical affection, but he did.

"Michiru. I'm gonna work you down to the bone to prepare you, but I'm not gonna put you to something I know you can't do." He reassured. "Part of training any part of yourself, be it physical, mental, or magical, is knowing your limits and how far you can push them."

Michiru silently looked to him with her big turquoise eyes. She stared at him contemplatively, like she was trying to decide something. That was when Shirou felt her lean into his hand slightly.

A fun fact about Michiru that only the few of Shirou and Nazuna knew, ever since becoming a beastman, Michiru has gone lacking the physical affection she craved. It was obvious she had felt it plenty before, maybe even taking it for granted. But it suddenly ended when she irreversibly turned. She personally couldn't blame her parents. They hadn't much contact with beastmen up to that point. Yes they loved her with all their hearts, she was still their daughter after all. But they subconsciously limited themselves from giving the hugs and kisses they once gave her plentifully. 

That left Shirou to give her the occasional pleasant touch. Not to often, that would both come off as weird for those looking in, and would hurt his stoic appearance. 

The distant sound of a approaching boat motor hit both their sensitive ears, causing them to twitch reflexively.

Michiru pulled away from Shirou's hand and jumped to her feet. She arched her back in a stretch, leaving Ogami to get up himself, puffing his chest out and pushed back his shoulder in his own stretch. His bones creaked and ached as he did so. It was kinda infuriating that his 28 year old body had become so inflexible. But that may have come from no longer having a spinal column. Or more of not having a complete one.

"Guess our ride's here." Michiru laugh, Ogami nodding in response. He reached down to collect the basket and blanket only to be cut off by Michiru. She nonverbally insisted on doing it, folding up the blanket and putting it in the basket. 

Or at least that was what she tried to do. It was more of her folding it unevenly then trying to brute force it after finding the basket too small for her poorly folded version of the blanket. She visibly grew frustrated as she pulled it out, and tried to refold it, only to get the same result. 

After a minute of her trying her best, Michiru was able to get it to a point where the basket could close and the edges of the blanket poking out the top wasn't too noticeable. The who time Shirou was left face palming in an attempt to try and cover up his own chuckling.

"Your first, Lady Silver Wolf." Shirou jeered, making an over dramatic motion for her to go before him. Michiru let out a quick laugh.

"You know people always say you don't have a sense of humor. They would never believe me if I told them you said that." Michiru laughed over her shoulder. 

"Hey I refute that claim," Shirou barked back, crossing his arms. "I lost my sense of humor somewhere during the Dark Ages."

Michiru let a a cackling yelp in response, unable to express her emotions any other way. How was it that her sorta-wolf-dad-man had hidden his sense of humor for this long?

The two took the few minute walk to the edge of the island to where they saw Marie Itami looking as smug as usual in her her wease-ACK-mink! Mink form! She stared at them from her boat like she knew something. But that might have just been her face.

"So how was your daddy daughter date?" Marie smirked, resting her arm on her rim of the boat.

Both Shirou and Michiru looked a mix of flustered and pissed at her joke. Only they could make fun of their relationship. 

"Don't you have some ignorant smuck to swindle out of their retirement fund?" Shirou growled as they approached the ramp onto the boat.

"Ah so I see you heard about my plans for today after I get you back." Marie hummed, unfazed. But then again you could point a knife to her throat and she'd still look smug.

The old wolf groaned as the pair climbed into the boat. The clunk of his cane against the floor and ramp reverberated through the whole vessel. They both took a seat, Shirou resting his cane between his knees.

With a thumbs up from Michiru and growled conformation from Shirou, Marie started up the engine and the three were off. They flew through the cool water towards the city, a cloud mist trailing behind them from the propeller. 

The two sat in silence for a while, Shirou having returned to his whole, "angriest senior citizen" stick he had going on. But Michiru still had one thing she needed to get off her chest.

She carefully laid her head against his shoulder, feeling his judgmental eyes on her head.

"Hey you know back when you fought Alan, and I found you." She whispered thoughtfully. "When I took your power, I really thought you were gonna die. Since you were gonna lose your healing."

"Now don't start getting emotional on me." Shirou coldly groaned. He averted his eyes up to Marie in the driver's seat.

Michiru could feel her heart sinking at his dismissive response. Then she felt his hand grasp onto her shoulder and his snout brush against her ear.

"But if you want to know. I was worried too. I was scared I might not get to see you grow to become the Silver Wolf I never could." Shirou softly poured out to her. Michiru's eyes started to burn in the corners as she clenched her teeth. "Oh and do me favor and act like you're leaning in my should just cause you're tired."

Michiru did just that, faking a yawn as she closed her eyes, waiting for the boat ride to be over. 

It was kinda annoying that they had to hide the Silver Wolf from Marie, since they would always end up encountering her somehow. 

But they couldn't trust her to not try and monetize either Michiru or Shirou as Silver Wolves. Maybe she could have found out during the night six months back, but her and Nazuna had taken Michiru's phone to try and broadcast Shirou's howl. Leading them far away from any of the battles.

Really for Michiru it was harder to hide it from Nazuna than it was for Marie. Marie was just a common presence, but Nazuna was Michiru's best friend and one of the few people she could really relate to on such a personal level.

Suddenly there was a banging, having Michiru jump awake. She saw Marie banging on the side of the boat.

"We're here. Now get off my boat, I actually do have other stuff to do." Marie smugly commanded, gesturing for them to climb onto the dock of Anima City. 

Shirou looked to be more than happy to leave that boat, and it's driver, Michiru followed close behind. 

The two stepped onto the dock and before they could even think, Marie was off again, misting them both. Shirou just sighed and started off back to the city, his cane echoing through the wood of the dock.

"You heading back home?" Michiru questioned.

"Exactly." Shirou replied over his shoulder. "I'll see you back there."

Michiru nodded, she pulled in her arms and then threw them out for them to be now morphed to wings. She flapped them hard and launched herself into the air.

"If like to argue with that!" She called out as she started flying off above the city sky line. Shirou just watched as she disappeared from his sight. 

To him, it really was amazing that her of all beastmen, had ended up becoming his heir to the title of The Silver Wolf. A crazy little tanuki who didn't even know what species she was when they first met. But hey, he wouldn't have it any other way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shirou: "For a thousand years I have been the Silver Wolf, protector of all beastmen. But after all this time, I have grown weary and wish to find a successor to take this power as I did for the last Silver Wolf. They must be the absolute perfect beastman as only then can I trust them with my power."
> 
> Michiru: *Looking disheveled while pulling herself out of a dumpster.* "Hey I just fought a rat for this box of Oreos. You can't have any though!" *Starts shoving Oreos into her mouth.*
> 
> Shirou: "That one! She shall be my heir. Oh and she's my daughter now."
> 
> Yeah so I just did a thing. It was fun and also kinda stressful.  
> Funny story, so I originally wanted to get this out on Saturday, but while writing on Friday, the draft didn't save properly so I lost from when Shirou has his first flashback, to when Michiru mopes about having to run. So the next day I went back at it, and didn't end up finishing it till today. No I can finally post my baby.  
> I just think there should be more AUs of BNA. Sure it's not asking for AUs as much as something like undertale, but it still needs some love. Like I've seen like two swap AU fics and that's it.  
> So I created my own fic where the Silver Wolf power and title is passed down like One For All.  
> If you have any questions or suggestions for this as an AU, please ask me in the comments. I'm still kinda feeling this one out since I only made the idea like a week ago. And depending on the reception, I might make more in this AU.  
> So see you soon or whatever. Maybe check me out on BNA amino cause I post art for this AU on there.  
> Oh and I'd love to see others use this AU. So if you get inspiration, please don't hesitate to use it.


	2. Night Time Comfort

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey so I had writing block on my other project, "Clowder Of Wild Wild Pussycats" so I decided to expand on what was meant to be a one shot.  
> If you want, this can really take place before or after the first part, or even after any future parts I make later. This is just a mess of little stories.  
> Or at least I try to make them little, then go over board cause I got too much inside my brain.

Michiru's body seized and violently twitched in Shirou's arms. Her eyes were rolled back into her head with her lips pulled back in an open mouthed snarl. A hole had been punched in her wrist with veins pulsing with a dull white glow around it. Others like them dotted her body.

"Come on...Michiru." The wolf form Shirou whispered, his voice having the lightest quiver to it. "Please say you can make it through this." 

His own body was torn rabid. A huge hole was torn though his abdomen, it only now beginning to heal, his stomach and other organs sewing themselves into place. His white and blue fur was stained crimson from the blast Alan had shot rough him. He'd only survived through the healing and immortality from being the Silver Wolf.

Michiru's frantic breaths and flapping jaw turned her own saliva into a thin foam that clung to the sides of her mouth. Her hands repeatedly clenched into claws, that swiped at the ground like it would help her somehow. 

Her chest twisted and quivered as her erratic breath and heart smashed against each other and tore at her own flesh. The overwhelming power of the Silver Wolf was ravaging her.

In a split moment it all stopped. All the movement fell still as Michiru froze then went limp. Her head lulled back, her teeth clicking together as her jaw went slack. The blue tail that once moved around rapidly with her constantly fluxing emotions laid still on the ground against Shirou's leg. The silver veins that a moment ago had bulged from under her skin faded as the heat leaked away from her body. Her life filled eyes were still, nothing left behind them. She was empty.

"Michiru...." His voice shook as he whimpered her name. "...no...no... Don't go...You said you would save them..."

His arms quivered as he stared down at her lifeless face. There was no smug smirk, no whiny grimace, no comforting smile, she was empty. She was dead. She died with a look of horror on his face.

"Please....plEAsE....PLEASE!" He screamed as he plunged his face against her chest and neck. "Please stay with me. We have to save them..." 

He felt her still chest, there was no movement of blood pumping through her, no pressure of air being pulling inside her lungs. She was gone. Why couldn't he except that!?

Her fur still felt warm. It still felt soft against his cheek. She felt comforting but in the most horrible way. Like feeling home sick but not being able to go home cause it's not there anymore.

"Asteria..." He found himself whimper as he pulled his head up. That was when he saw he was no longer holding Michiru, but the bloodied corpse of a young, black wolf beastman woman.

The streets around them were coated in the liquid life force of beastman to the point where even the sky was dyed red and black. Tears burned his face as they stained his cheek fur. His claws quivered as he tried to hold her still.

The kind features of her face were twisted to show an expression of terror. The red ichor clumped her beautiful ebony fur together. The same fur that always made him jealous with his simple brown coat. Her golden eyes that carried a fire that always forced him to strive, had been extinguished. The fangs that had made up the smile that had reminded him what it felt to be alive, we're now twisted into a grimace of fear. Her mind that had once created schemes and plans that would always get them into trouble when they were young, was silent.

"It's me. It's Lykos, Asteria..." The white furred beastman whined as he gently pulled her into a hug. "It's your little brother Lykos.... You said we were gonna protect each other... Please let me try again."

" _I didn't know we started playing_." Bounced around inside his head though it refused to exit his mouth. But he found himself wanting whimper it like he had when she had beaten him in one of the games they would make up and play in the forest as little pups.   
It was kinda funny that she would often accept his little lie and would start again. It took him so long to realize it was just cause she wanted to beat him again. Which she almost always would do.

He could still remember the way she would laugh as they would run off with their arms (and sometimes mouths) filled with stollen figs from the trees of neighbors. She always seemed to laugh ever harder when said neighbors would be yelling at their dark forms disappearing into the shadows of the trees. Asteria insisted stollen figs tasted better than anything else they could get as easily.

She'd been the only one to know why exactly his dull brown fur had turned a brilliant white and blue after he returned from his several year long apprenticeship over seas. She just laughed and gave him a smack on the head before telling him to not let it go to his head. She was still better than him.

But she didn't have to say it, cause even as young adults, he still held a respect for her. Asteria, the she-wolf who had become the most prized potential bride in their part of Nervasyl. The greatest weaver he had ever known. Being able to create anything you asked of her in a fraction of the time it take would another, and with double the quality. Her passion shined through every piece of her work.

Yet she had decided to stay unwed for the time. Even through all the bribes and promises of a life so lavish that anyone else would kill for it. But that also included the sneers and laughs she got. It was difficult being an unwed woman on the streets of Nervasyl. Or to just be a woman.

But she would never care. She would never even look at the faces of those giving sly remarks. All she needed was her brother to tease, a few figs, and an quiet room to work in. And she'd be content with her place in the city state.

Lykos heard the clinking of armor and the patting of feet on the dirt road. He slowly lifted his tear stained face from the dead body of his childhood rival and best friend. He looked up and saw a human solider looking down at him. All he saw was an unholy grin on his vat of shadows that was meant to be a face.

The wolf watched as he rose up his spear and plunged it down upon him. He felt the spear pierce through the scar on his throat that had only just healed over, and exit through the back of his neck, going through his spine on the way through.

Lykos let out silent scream of anguished that had been building up inside of him. Though he felt no blood pour from his wound.

Shirou Ogami roared up to a siting position, his skin soaked in a cold sweat. 

His lungs heaved as he gasped for breath, the cold night air filling each inhale. His clawed hands grasping at his chest. 

Once he had steadied himself and calmed his hyperventilating, his hand glided up to his throat, feeling the scar carefully. Feeling every single ridge and imperfection that differed it from the rest of his skin, even in human form.

"I'm alive, I'm here, I'm Shirou Ogami." Shirou softy reminded himself, trying to bring himself back from his twisted recreation of his memories. Everything from the past half a year came back. Including that the transfer of the Silver Wolf power worked, Michiru was now the new Silver Wolf. She survived it and was more than fine.

Shirou felt his body slowly relax, his fur fell from standing on end, his ear lowered, his tail fell still. That was also when he realized all the stress had forced him into his beast form. He could live with that for the current moment. 

Suddenly Shirou's bedroom door swung open and nearly came off its hinges. It thudded against the wall, making Shirou flinch from the scattered shards of the broken silence on the floor.

Standing in the open doorway was a frantic looking Michiru. Her whole body was heaving from her rapid gasps for air.

"Shirou are you ok?!" She asked between her gasps for breath, her arm still held out to shove open the door.

The old wolf was about to start questioning how and why she had ran in the moment after he woke up, when he nearly face palmed. He'd remember exactly why she was here, his scent. 

When put in distress, beastmen are known to release a normally scentless pheromone that only a Silver Wolf can pick up on. And from his nightmare, Shirou was drenched in the stuff.

The smell itself was actually how they would find those in need of their help. Cause when put in enough distress, like a life or death situation, they could smell a beastman from miles away. And then get there in about the same time it took to pick up on the scent.

"Yes I'm fine." Shirou groaned, leaning his back against the headboard of his bed. 

Michiru looked at him still worried, her tail curling between her legs. Her nose twitched and scrunched in the moon light. It looked like the smell was too much for her and was causing her discomfort.

"Are you sure?" She muttered.

"Michiru, I'm a 800+ year old man. I know enough of my emotions to know if I'm ok or not." Shirou bluffed. He was counting his blessings for still being able to pull off such blatant lies still. Cause he had no idea what was going on inside of him most of the time. Like most people.

Michiru went silent but hovered in the doorway. She stood there like she wanted to leave, but also didn't want to leave the sight of Shirou, like there was a monster just beyond the door that would get her the second she left the protective eye of Ogami.

Shirou suddenly realized he wasn't the only one giving off a smell of stress. In fact, Michiru reeked of it almost as much as Shirou did. His eyes narrowed as he focused on her. She was in a tank top and shorts, her normal sleep attire. But she still had a scared expression, her whole body being tensed up.

"Did you have a nightmare or something?" Shirou asked, combining a tired groan with a hint of actual soft worry. Michiru recoiled at the suggestion, instantly going on the defensive.

"What!? No no it's nothing like that! I-I just smelled something off." She stammered, trying to find an excuse for being in Shirou's room at 1 AM. Michiru didn't know anything about the beastman distress smell, so Shirou was kinda impressed for getting pretty close.

The two stared at each other for a moment as Michiru hoped Shirou wouldn't call her out. Shirou on the other hand was hoping he wouldn't have to dig deeper and that she would just admit whatever was troubling her. But Michiru didn't so that left Shirou with but one option.

Shirou shifted over by a few inches, leaving a space on his bed beside him before he pat the bed a few times, not breaking eye contact.

"Sit." He suggested assertively. Michiru remained frozen on the other side of the room, looking conflicted on what she wanted to do next in response. 

Ogami sighed as he decided it wouldn't kill him to go a little further. 

"...If you tell me about what's bothering you, I'll tell you about what's bothering me." He relented, tapping the bed again. Michiru lit up like she had won some competition.

"Ha! So there is something wrong!" Michiru boasted, her youthful pride and energy returning. 

"Just sit your butt down." Shirou growled, questioning again why he had done so much for this idiot girl. But with that prompt, she did walk over and took a seat on the bed next to Shirou. The feeling of her fur against his own felt comforting, reminding Shirou that it had truly all just been a dream. 

"What's wrong this time?" Shirou asked, accidentally coming off more passive aggressive than intended. He was still trying to get use to this whole, being a decent psuedo-dad thing. But Michiru didn't take kindly to his passive aggression, giving him a little punch on the arm. It didn't hurt, just brought his attention to it.

"Ah I've been wounded." He sarcastically threw his head back, one hand grasping his shoulder where Michiru had stuck his Almighty Gothness. "How will I ever recover?"

Shirou fell back, slumping against the headboard. The teenage tanuki softly chuckled as she looks at him give what she could have mistaken to be a grin in the dim moonlight.

"Heh, well I did have a nightmare." Michiru softly admitted, looking down into her own lap as she began. "I was back to the night when I had to fight Alan." 

She had suddenly gotten his attention even more so than she had before. Shirou sat back up straight.

"I was fighting Alan again...but I lost. And he killed me. He cut my head clean off." Michiru explained softly, her voice slowly falling into a melancholy tone. 

"After he killed me, I watched from over his shoulder as he went and killed everyone." She explained, a soft pain shook through her voice. "He killed EVERYONE, you, Ben, Melissa, Nina, all the bears, Marie, Pinga, Mayor Rose, Nazuna!"

A repressed whimper escaped her mouth, obviously against her will. Shirou could see that inside her eyes the vague images of the horrors of her nightmares. He sat and thought for a moment as Michiru bounced around inside of her own head, rewatching her own nightmare on repeat like it was a highlight reel.

"How did Marie die?" He questioned, catching Michiru's attention, who was taken completely off guard.

"Why Marie?" She yelped, spinning around to face him.

"As long as it isn't too bad, she might have deserved it." Shirou elaborated, shrugging. Michiru held back a chuckle as she thought back.

"She got stepped on." Michiru giggled. 

"Yeah she deserved that." Shirou admitted, folding his arms behind his head.

"I think that's a little harsh." Michiru laughed, crossing one leg over the other as she leaned back on one of her hands. "Really she doesn't deserve death, but probably just like a coma."

"Are we thinking of the same Marie here?" Shirou asked in the most snarky way he could manage, which was nothing in comparison to what Michiru could do without breaking a sweat.

"Yes we are! But I think she doesn't need to die, just get hit on the head so she gets put in a coma for like a week." Michiru explained, a smile shining through her once darkened face.

"Ok we'll just have to remember to do that next time we see her." Shirou nonchalantly dropped like a brick.

"What?" Michiru spun back around to face him in bewilderment.

"Next time we see Marie we should remember to drop a brick on her head and put her in a week to month long coma." Shirou explained like it was the most simple idea.

To that explanation, Michiru placed both hands on her face as she began to chuckle and giggle at a slowly increasing volume. It got to a point where she began to shake with her own laughter and toppled over into a giggly pile on Shirou's bed sheets. It took another few minutes for her to stop cackling and start breathing like a normal person again. It didn't help that she needed much less air than the normal person. If it wasn't for the noise, Shirou might have just laid down and went back to sleep. But he didn't, he just waited for her to finish.

Suddenly the raccoon girl stopped and rolled over, a smug look across her face.

"Ok, I told you my nightmare, now it's your turn." She smirked, excited to hear about his weaknesses. Shirou fell back and pinched the bridge of his nose. He was kinda hoping she would forget about that.

"Ok if you wanna know, at least sit up." Shirou relented, suddenly falling serious and looking a bit tired. Michiru did just as commanded, sitting up straight and pulling her knees in to her chest.

Shirou massaged his forehead with his two fingers as he prepared himself. He sighed, looking to the opposite wall, still trying to compress all his thoughts into something Michiru could understand. Or at least understand without him completely pouring his heart out.

"Is it too rough?" Michiru asked softly, realizing just how much pain was on his face. "If it's too much, it's fine if you don't wanna-"

"No it's fine. I'm old enough to deal with my emotions." He growled, going back to grumpy persona. "Plus I don't go back on an agreement."

Michiru didn't know how to feel about that last part. Why was he holding to an agreement that was obviously just meant to force her to open up. 

Michiru just scooted her body across the bed and sat down next to her grumpy wolf sorta-dad-guy-man. Placing her back on the headboard along side Ogami.

Shirou looked down at the silent tanuki, the two locking eyes in a wordless conversation. With a long blink and a sigh, Shirou opened his mouth.

"I was back to the same night you were at. The night I made you the new Silver Wolf." Shirou began. "But something was wrong, you couldn't take it. You were shaking and foaming at the mouth and had your eyes rolled back, and....you were dying. But I couldn't do anything about it."

Kagemori winced at the memory, the transfer of power was a rough moment. She could remember folding over on her hands and knees, vomiting from the pain that surged through her body. Ever inch of her felt like it was being electrocuted while acid pumped through her veins, eating away as it went. It was just so much energy being forced through he small body. 

But even then, she remembered it as being quick, maybe ten to twenty seconds of the pain, then it all stopped and went black. Before she could even think, she was in her Silver Wolf form, with all the energy and heightened senses and emotions that came with it. Shirou was collapsed on the floor, when she swore he was just hunched over her. But all she could worry about was Alan and how much she wanted to tear out his throat.

"Then you froze and went limp, and I knew you were dead but I couldn't believe it." Shirou muttered, he spoke almost completely deadpan. Like he'd used all his emotions to the point where he'd run out of each of them. "You were cold and limp and I couldn't feel your heart anymore. But I refused to admit it." 

Michiru could see him gritting his teeth in an attempt to hold back his emotions. He was doing a good job, but she could sense that same smell she had woken up to, now rising again.

That was when she rested her head against his big shoulder. She let her head fade into his thick coat.

"You can't even feel my heart now." Michiru laughed, trying to bring a little humor to the moment. Shirou seemed taken aback by her joke. Michiru just gently grabbed his hand, which dwarfed both of hers, and guided it to rest against her chest. 

As advertised, Shirou felt near nothing under his palm. Maybe a small handful of beats in the thirty seconds before he pulled back his hand.

"See, and I'm still here. I'm still alive Shirou." Michiru reassured. Shirou hummed as he looked down at the blue haired fuzz ball. He lifted the same hand that Michiru had grabbed and rested it between her ears. 

"Yeah, I guess you are. And that's one of my problems." Shirou jabbed, much to Michiru's annoyance.

"You can't just pretend you don't care when you were literally just trying not to cry when you though I was dead!" The raccoon screeched, annoyed at her housemate's stoicism. He just gave the smallest smile at the site of her getting upset. Why did she have to act so cute when she was mad?! Did she know she was doing it? Cause she could be terrifying when mad enough and put in a corner, as Alan had learned first hand.

Michiru just sat there, a little miffed as Shirou twisted his fingers through her hair. As they sat silently, more of Shirou's dream re-entered his head. The visions of it all clouding his eyes. Michiru noticed the distant look on his face after she realized his scratching rhythm was completely wrong.

"Hey, hey Shirou you ok?" She asked, snapping the wolf out of his trance, forcing him to look back down to her. "Was there anything else in your dream?" 

Shirou looked back down to her as he thought about what should next exit his mouth.

"Yeah, I went back to Nervasyl." He admitted softly to Michiru's horror.

"Oh that must have been horrible, was it bad?" Michiru asked worriedly, assuming it to be part of the nightmare.

"No, no it wasn't bad. It wasn't even really part of my nightmare." Ogami lied. He could still clearly visualize everything that had happened inside his mind, but Michiru didn't need to know that. "It just made me think a bit, about stuff from back then that I'd forgotten."

"Oh, Um. What was it like back in Nervasyl? Did you like have a wife or anyone?" Michiru asked, having no idea why love was the first thing to come to her mind. But Shirou barely flinched at the comment.

"No. I never got the chance to do anything like that. And even if I did, I wouldn't want to." The old wolf explained. "We didn't have a word for it back then, but I think you could class me as, a-aromantic." Shirou stumbled a little on his last word.

"Wait you're aro? I never knew." Michiru leaned in, really shock by his coming out.

"Well yeah. Unlike you I like to keep stuff like that closer to my chest." He retorted, giving Michiru a soft flick on her temple. She flinched and held a hand to the site of the attack.

"Ow! Well it's kinda hard to hide it when your best friend and crush comes wrecking balling through the wall with a cult and conspiracy on her back." Michiru whined while she rubbed the spot. It didn't hurt much on account of her healing, she just felt it appropriate. Shirou hummed softly as he thought more.

"No I never had a partner or anything. But I still had people who were important." Shirou thought aloud. Michiru just seemed even more down from that thought. She didn't say anything but all she could think about was the fact that Shirou had lost all of it. All to those humans. She never could believe that Nervasyl Syndrome was the reason for its fall. It was just so convenient that this sickness that had only just started appearing in Anima city, actually started in the home city-state of Shirou, the biggest threat to Alan that he might want to shake up. And that it had gone completely unseen in the passing centuries since then, even to Shirou who had been around the world since becoming the Silver Wolf.

"Do you ever miss Nervasyl?" Michiru worked up the courage to ask.

"Not as much as you think I would. But that's mostly cause I don't think about it much. I probably should, but I never do." Shirou absently mindedly explained. That was when Michiru couldn't take it anymore, and she wrapped her arms around his mid section.

"Well maybe you should. We could even do it together if you want." The seventeen year old explained, resting her head against his body. "Cause I miss my home a lot too. And I don't like to think about it either. I know it's not the same, since it's still there, but it's still hard to go back, especially with who I am now. But maybe if we think about it together sometime, it'll be easier for both of us." 

Shirou dug his claws into her hair and slowly drew them down her head to the base of her neck. As she felt his hand move around the top of her head, her eyelids suddenly became shockingly heavy.

"Your little mind creates weird ideas when your tired." Shirou explained as he pulled his hand back to the top of Michiru's head. "You should go back to bed and get some sleep."

Michiru groaned and scrunched up her face, her arms still locked around Shirou.

"Mmmgggrrr! It's not a weird idea! And I'm not going to bed till you fall asleep! I'm not gonna leave you to just cry yourself to sleep." Michiru growled, her eyes unable to stay open.

"I'm not gonna cry myself to sleep, Michiru." Shirou asserted, very sure in himself.

"I can't be sure of that!" Michiru growled back, just hugging him tighter. 

"You know I can just pull you off and force you to go to bed, right?" Shirou threatened.

"I'm strong... And I'm too lovably for you to do that." She insisted, nuzzling her head against his body. 

Shirou took that as a challenge. He grabbed onto her stretched arms and began to try and pry them away. That had the opposite result, having her tighten her grip. He relented for a moment, having her relax her grip back to how it was before. He then tried a second time on a different spot, going for her interlaced fingers. That had the expected result. 

Shirou took a moment and looked at his options. Michiru was completely connected to him at the hip and half asleep. The only thing was that she had her stubborn mind locked on staying with him till one if them fell asleep. And that person looked to be Michiru. He could probably tear her away, but that might hurt her. 

He sighed as he came to the only conclusion he could. He reached over and pulled the covers over his lower half.

"Try and get comfortable." He groaned. Michiru chirped sleepily but happily at him relenting to her. She just snuggled her face deeper into him. Doing exactly what Shirou said, for one of the few times in her life.

She wouldn't say it, but it felt kinda nostalgic to curl up next to Shirou. It just reminded her so much of when she would get anxious or scared, and would curl up with her dad.

He wasn't a big man, but he was always big to her. Always a huge pillar of comfort for her when she was little. Always someone who could protect her from the things that went bump in the night. And eventually the things that were a bit braver. Though now she had one thing on her mind, did she take it for granted?

It felt like one moment she was sixteen and going to school with her best friend, then the next, her best friend gets kidnapped and she turns into a beastman to then lock herself away for a year. She watchs as her parents tried to understand what to do next. What do when their only daughter suddenly became a different species. This was different from when she came out of the closet. This was literally a change in her biology that had come from nowhere.

She just couldn't watch it anymore. She couldn't listen in on the late night conversations when they thought she was asleep. She couldn't watch the hesitated hugs. She couldn't listen to the fumbled words any longer. So she made the three week long journey. Yeah she nearly died several times, including several beastman hunters encounters, but....

And now she was here. Here in Anima-City. Having driven up the amount of time she'd nearly died by a unhealthy amount. But she's got Shirou now. And she's now a Silver Wolf, a protector of beastmen. A protector of a species she had barely thought about only two years ago. 

Really now, the roles have reversed. She barely thinks about humans. Only having them come to mind when they relate to beastmen. 

And that fact kinda worried her. Especially with Shirou. Cause she cared about him. She cared about the Horners. She cared about Nina, Nazuna, Pinga, Mayor Rose, the Bears, all of them. All of these beastmen. Maybe even Marie a bit. But not humans as much anymore. The people she lived around for sixteen years were slow to come to mind. Even her nightmares, the ones that really hurt her, were about beastmen. They had faded out of her memories. What did their faces look like again? Weren't Silver Wolves meant to have good memories!? Than why can't she remember them clearly!? Why can't she remember their voices?! What was the name of her team mates again?! What team did she play for again!? Wait who was her teacher?! Why is it all so blurry!!?

Had...had she replaced everyone in her life with beastmen. Even Shirou. Her father figure. Replaced the role of her birth father. Her blood and flesh. The one who raised her. Now she was hugging Shirou the same way she would hug her father. No that couldn't be.. But it was. 

" _I'm sorry mom. I'm sorry dad...."_ She would have said it aloud, but by the time the worrying thought had come, so had sleep, which overtook her completely.

Shirou felt Michiru's grip lessen as she faded to sleep, his hand still running through her hair. His thoughts still bouncing around inside his own head. He had turned to questioning why he was doing all this for this random girl? Was it that he was just tired? No it couldn't be cause he felt like this even during the day, though he was better at hiding it. Why had he lightened up on her so much? Why had he turned to some soft mentor? It had only been six months yet he cared about her. 

He'd cared about people before. But he'd learned to stop doing that after a point. Being a thousand means that you meet a lot of people. And he'd cared about a lot of people. And he'd watched them grow old and die. So why did he care about Michiru the he would when he was young and hadn't learned the downfalls of being immortal?

Was it because he knew that for once, he was gonna be the one to grow old and die before her? Was it some kind of connection from being Silver Wolves? Or was Michiru just some prank built by a higher power to mess with him? The perfectly built person to destroy him from the inside?

A former human. As stubborn as him. A naive child. She had attachments to a enemy in Nazuna, now former. She invaded his house. She knew how to push his buttons perfectly. Yet she cared about beastmen and doing what's right. And she was loyal to the end and forced him out of his comfort zone for better and for worse. It almost sounded like a scheme made by a very particular wolf. 

Shirou just sighed deeply and pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. And he laid back ready to get some sleep. But before he could, he folded his hands together over his lap.

" _Hey, I don't really know who exactly is up there. Or if you're even there. And it's not likely you're gonna listen to me. But if she's up there. Please just send a message. Sorry Asteria, I might have let it go to my head. But you got your revenge, and you named it Michiru_." Shirou prayed silently before he fell asleep himself.

\--------------------

Shirou could feel the sun rays of the morning light on his face. But he really didn't want to get up quiet yet. He'd already lost a good bit of time for sleep the previous night. And he wanted to try and reclaim some of it. But then the old wolf heard the trademark flapping of wings and the unmistakable smell of a bird. 

He slowly drew open his eyes and looks to the foot of his bed to see the crow, Kuro. And if a bird could ever look smug, than that's what Kuro was doing.

"Oh shut up. You have no ability to judge me, I have to clean up your crap everyday."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok so yeah, I gave Shirou a sister. It's kinda funny cause I wanted to give him someone to mourn I'm Nervasyl, but I felt like a lover is to cliche and I head cannon him as aromantic. So I thought, "Oh I should do a family member", and the first thing was a sister, but I though it was even more cliche for it to be a little sister he wanted to protect. So I thought "Oh an older sister and they swore to protect each other." Then I kept imagining her as super chaotic, and now we Have Asteria.  
> Oh and I decided to give Shirou an old Greek name, because he most definitely has changed his name at some point. I mean he's a Greek guy, with a Japenese name, what sense does that make?!  
> Also we've hit levels of "Michiru is not ok" that we didn't think was possible!  
> Ok I'll leave you all be now, bye.


End file.
